Playing With Fire
by theseaisgreen
Summary: Artemis Crock is unpredictable, fierce, and undeniably dangerous- like wildfire. But there's also a surprising warmness about her that sparks a flame in Wally West, and inevitably, he soon realizes the dangers of playing with fire. (Spitfire moments)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi, everyone! Once again, welcome to Spitfire!

Thank you all so much for all the positive feedback I've been getting for my other stories, they _really_ mean a lot to me. Those were my first fanfics ever, and I'm just surprised that it got the attention that I never expected. Thanks to every YJ reader out there, and I really hope you'll like this one too.

After a lot of thinking, I realised that I wasn't creative enough to come up with a plot that would run with the canon, so these are just related spitfire moments that happen in between episodes in Season 1 or during. I really, really hope you like them! Don't be shy to speak your mind, all criticisms are welcome here :)

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**Chapter 1: Initiation**

* * *

There were a lot of people Artemis Crock didn't get along with. Maybe it was her indifferent manner of speaking, or her dislike for all things sunshine-y and sparkly, or her involvement with the wrong crowd, but she knew that if such a list existed, the boisterous, obtuse, annoying kid speedster would be first on her list.

She had remembered the time she'd first been introduced to the team, remembered the suffocating weight of their calculating stares on her masked face, her weapons, and the green arrow on her chest flashing like a blinding headlight. There wasn't much Artemis was afraid of, other than the common fear of death and the afterlife, but in that moment, she'd experienced for the first time in her life the paralysing fear of stage fright.

"I'm his niece," she'd told them- and partly to herself too, as if saying it would make it come true and alleviate the heaviness of guilt and anxiety that had pressed onto her. Artemis couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so jittery; her past had steeled her for every situation she could think of. But, as she stared at their costumes that they had definitely earned along with their title, she had felt incredibly... incompetent. She hadn't done anything in her life that she'd been proud of, nothing that made her deserving of the role that Batman and Green Arrow had given her. Though she hid her insecurity well behind a mask of superiority and indifference, his words had affected her.

_Never heard of you_, the speedster had said.

In his defence, the archer had been the one to initiate the insults, but there was no way Artemis would admit to that. Especially since his attire was practically asking to be commented on.

Never in her right mind would she ever tell him, but he'd been almost a situational relief for her that day. In his utterly comical state, he'd almost seemed normal compared to the suited up superheroes around them and despite feeling as though she stuck out like a sore thumb, she'd only taken a jab at him because he had been worse.

The effect had not gone her way though, and she had not expected the speedster to retaliate so furiously. Besides, what kind of name was Kid Flash anyways? And who wore obnoxiously blinding colours like yellow and red?

Artemis couldn't place her finger on what it was about the annoying sidekick that irritated her. Maybe it was the fact that he'd been so openly hostile to her when she'd been a hot mess inside, or the fact that the reason why was because he had been looking out for a friend. Like loyalty mattered in a world like theirs. The archer knew better than that.

You get a job, you finish it, and then you get out. It was their way of life, and blind loyalty got you killed. Like Jade had said: 'Every girl for herself.'

* * *

It really wasn't a surprise when her daddy dearest dropped by for a visit the next morning. In a flurry, she had ushered her mom into her bedroom but the headstrong woman had nearly run over feet on her way out. Whether it had been her innate instincts or her intensive knowledge on her dad's behaviour that had prepared her for this confrontation, she wasn't sure, but she was thankful for both.

Sportsmaster's feet were propped up on the dining table as he drummed his fingers on the table in a steady rhythm, and his hockey mask hung from the back of the chair. It wasn't the rigid set of his shoulders, nor his clenched jaw that gave away his anger; it was his face that had been eerily neutral, and it was a look he always had before he did something explosive- _literally._

"Artemis," the name was strung out as he levelled his freezing stare onto her.

Her mother had wheeled herself forwards a fraction in front of her, and her heart stopped when her mother glanced back, her dark eyes steely as they cautioned her. There were bags under her eyes and Artemis knew that her mother had got just about as much sleep as she had the previous night.

Paula's shoulders were set with determination despite her small frame and her disabled state, and Artemis could see the silhouette of her old identity-Huntress, one of the greatest assassins of her time- shimmering under the retired ex-con's form.

"Lawrence," the older woman called in the same tone, her back straight and her hands on her lap; the epitome of calmness if Artemis hadn't noticed the way the woman's hands were subtly shaking under her false pretence.

She calculated that it would take her less than ten seconds to get to her room and contact the League with the com-link Robin had given her last night -the one she'd foolishly taken out when she'd gotten to bed- and she trusted her mother to be able to hold her dad off for ten seconds. The older woman was not to be underestimated.

Sportsmaster smiled, a twisted line on his face and Artemis shoved the cold feeling washing over her tight into her stomach, schooling her expression so that he couldn't see just how affected she was by a mere smile.

"I was working late last night," her father began, his tone a little too conversational and Artemis recognised it as the calm before the storm. "And I had been throwing out the _trash _as usual, when I heard an interesting piece of news." The rhythmic tapping of his fingers against the table ceased, and Paula grabbed her daughter's hand reassuringly.

"They said that they saw… _my_ baby girl, fighting with the League. Isn't that strange?"

He smiled again, and the shiver that ran down Artemis' spine felt like she'd been doused with a bucket of icy water. She swallowed down the lump in her throat, and kept her shaking hands behind her back.

"I would say that it's stranger that you're in this house."

Her response sounded much more confident than she'd felt, and her mother's hand squeezed hers infinitesimally.

Paula nodded. "You're not welcome here, Lawrence."

His expression darkened as something in him snapped. Slamming his large fists on the table, the two women tried not to flinch when it made a threatening boom echo around the apartment.

"Do you know what happens when people- _especially my family_- directly disobey my orders?"

His voice was unnervingly quiet, and he had stood up -all muscles and scars- and involuntarily, Artemis' knees wobbled under her weight. Her mind scrambled to find a way out, the way he had taught her, and she almost exclaimed aloud when an idea came to her.

"_Dad_," she said, grimacing when her voice hitched off at the end. "Didn't you think we'd have made sure you were permanently unwelcome?"

Her father's eyes narrowed and she continued with courage she didn't know she had, nodding her head to the walls of the apartment. "There are surveillance cameras set up in this apartment and a back-up team ready to kick in at any time. So unless you want to go back to Belle-Rève; my advice is to stay out of our lives."

Sportsmaster snarled, but seemed to heed her advice as he moved towards the windows. "You're a waste of talent, kid. You think this surveillance is for your safety? They'll never trust you, just remember that. See you out in the field, baby girl, because you'll come crawling back soon enough."

His words had echoed long after he'd disappeared from their sight. There was a part of Artemis that knew that there was no surveillance and that it had all been a ruse, but his words had hit her front and centre. The archer knew she didn't have a clean record like the others; that was why she had joined in the first place- to make up for the losses she'd caused. She wondered if she would ever be trusted, would ever belong. Sometimes she wondered if her attempts to change for the better were futile, that she would forever be condemned, but then she would remind herself constantly that it didn't matter, at least she was _trying_.

As soon as the tension in the air dissipated and the dark material of her dad's attire had gone out of sight, she collapsed on the couch and her mother heaved out a relieved sigh before patting her knee.

"Good job, Artemis. You did well. I'm so proud of you."

She nodded at her mother's smile, swallowing down her fears before she remembered something she had to do. Standing up abruptly, she ran to her room and fumbled for the com-link before inserting it into her ear.

"Robin, it's Artemis."

There was some static before the Boy Wonder answered. "Hey, new girl. What's up?"

"Can you tell Batman that Spor-" She cut off, and her eyes widened when she realised what she had been about to do. No one knew. No one should ever know who her family was. And if she had told her teammate that Sportsmaster was here, they would all ask questions. Why was he there? What had he done? And most of all, why would he only target her?

"-ts, is one of my strong points," she finished lamely.

"Oh… _'Kay_," he answered, and Artemis could almost see his eyes squinting with suspicion. Batman's protégé was the one she had to watch out for the most, even though the Dark Knight had given her his word that her parentage would be strictly confidential. Who knew what tricks the kid had up his sleeve?

"Yes," she said awkwardly.

"Well, since you've finally put on the com-link, we have a training session tonight with Black Canary. We usually have it on the weekends; less clash of schedules and commitments."

"Sure, thanks."

"Oh, and Artemis?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome to the team."

* * *

It was expected that someone with the archer's circumstances would be able to fight brilliantly, but that did not lessen the surprise their training mentor felt at her skills. Though she was no Black Canary, she had managed to get a few hits while sparring against their mentor and the archer could certainly hold her own against her teammate's varied skill sets. It was apparent to Black Canary, however, that the young girl seemed to do her best fighting when it came to showdowns with the speedster.

The adult superhero chalked it up to the fact that the air was charged with animosity whenever both of them were in the same room, and to Artemis, her internal reasoning had only been different to a certain extent.

The archer merely wanted to prove her skills, and even if she was a replacement like the Kid Flash had accused her of, she wanted to be the better replacement. She was also aware that he moved faster than anyone she'd ever gone up against, and to be provided such a challenge to have quicker reflexes than the fastest kid on earth was one she did not take lightly, though she did not deny the fact that she'd also been itching to disfigure his face since their introduction.

"Again," Black Canary had ordered when Kid Flash's back had hit the floor for the third time in the last fifteen minutes. The thudding sound of his shoulders against the floor sent waves of smug satisfaction washing through Artemis, and she couldn't help the little smile that curved her lips.

"She's actually trying to _kill_ me, this is unfair," the redhead complained, rubbing his sore neck as he got to his feet. "This is just training."

Whatever pleasure she'd felt before ceased, and Artemis' eyes narrowed as her nails dug into her palms. He was also a sore loser, she mused. Obviously, if he was blaming his incompetency in hand to hand combat on her. _Just training_? What did he think they were training for, a _ballet recital_?

Black Canary sighed as she looked at him pointedly. "Training is the difference between life and death. She should be hitting you like she would if it was Bane or Dr Freeze."

"But _I _can't hit her!"

Their mentor raised a cynical eyebrow at his answer.

Feeling eyes on him, the speedster shifted onto his feet, his reasoning on the tip of his tongue, until he realised that her gender didn't really matter. Wally had fought plenty of women before. "She's a… A… _lunatic_!"

Artemis scowled and she swung a low kick that swept him off his feet. He landed on the floor with another loud thud, a regretful groan escaping his lips and Robin cackled in the background before Kid Flash's head whipped towards him.

"Dude, some best friend you are."

A lazy grin stretched on Robin's face as he lounged on the chairs with the others. "She's right, Wall-man. We're not going to go up against people who fight us because they want to invite us to a tea party with their leader."

The speedster's expression was stony underneath his mask and he shot her a glare before returning into his fighting stance. Artemis watched as he circled her, slowly at first before he increased in speed and became a blur around her. Her instincts were running wild, and he'd managed to clip her ribs as his blurred fist came for her torso, but she'd dodged low, before swinging her leg around to trip him again.

He laid on the floor, wincing at the new bump he felt growing on the back of his head, before he jumped up abruptly, his pointer finger raised at her accusingly. "You cheated!"

"I'm going easy on you, kid," she snapped, her non-existent patience wearing thin. Her muscles had been coiled up ready for combat since her father's little drop in and he had already wasted ten minutes of her sparring time before.

"She is," Robin added in a smug tone. He was facing Artemis and she did not miss the knowing quirk of his lips, but before she could ask what it meant, Batman's stoic profile flashed on above them.

"_Attention, Team_."

* * *

**PS: I have a guilty confession to make... Yes, Young Justice is the first fandom I read on this website, but I've been straying... *sobs* I'm sorry, I cheated on YJ with LOTR. They're just so many good authors and stories out there. But I promise I'll try to keep writing this one! ****_Spitfire never dies! _**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: To be honest, this chapter isn't one of my favorites :( I just had to put in this idea for Spitfire somewhere, so I had to make up my own mission (It sucks, I'm really sorry, but I promise the future chapters will be much better!) Criticisms are much welcomed :)**

**Thanks to all these guys for being supportive:**

**kateygirl7, spitfireforever, Black Bat Girl, ingrid. sampaio .94 (Sorry, they won't let me type in your username for some reason) **

**Thank you all so much!**

**PS: My fellow fanmate's coming over for a sleepover and we're having a Season 2 marathon. Can't wait!**

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**Chapter 2: Hero**

* * *

The bioship landed in the middle of a forest, and the foliage provided them with perfect cover as they glided swiftly down onto the ground. Batman had made it clear that it was to be a recon mission, and if they could help it, it was going to be one of their first successful ones, except their entrance had been anything but silent.

And to the archer, it was obviously the redhead's fault.

"You shouldn't even be here, after you let that assassin go," Kid Flash had remarked when they had both strapped into their seats back at the Cave.

"It wasn't her fault, Kid. That assassin was trained," reminded Kaldur, and though Artemis knew his intentions had been good, she hadn't liked the way he said 'trained', as if she'd had less experience than the rest of them. Besides, she could've taken down Jade if she'd wanted but that had been the problem hadn't it? She hadn't wanted to hurt her even though she'd been the one hurt countless times. The archer couldn't forget the smile that used to be on her sister's face, nor the warmth of her embrace during the years their mother had been absent.

"I didn't see _you_ running after her, Kid _Flash_," she'd replied then, taking every opportunity to avoid her thoughts. Artemis hadn't realised it, but she had become almost dependent on the speedster's ability to rile her up. She'd figured being angry and fearless was better than the swirl of emotional turmoil that resided in her mind.

"Only because you left all the dirty work to me," he had turned around his seat then to glare at her and she returned it with one of her own.

"Couldn't handle it?"

The speedster gritted his teeth together as he felt his irritation flare under his skin, a reaction only the archer could create ever since she joined the team. "I can handle anything."

A flicker of amusement flashed across her eyes and he noticed that her mouth had thinned to hide her growing smirk. "Oh, I know, Kid. The training session said it all."

He scowled, but didn't say anything else when he turned around in his seat. The rest of the trip had been silent until the speedster decided to speak up again during their descent.

"If you're so good, why didn't you stop the assassin?"

The triumphant smile Artemis wore on her face fell, and she tried to keep her face impassive as she stared at the back of his head.

_Because she was my sister. Because she used to sing lullabies before bed. Because she'd given me one last pained, rueful smile before she had left me with my father._

"Because she was better," she finally settled on that answer, and kept her gaze on the forest outside the bioship even as his green eyes snapped to her in surprise.

He had expected her to insult him, not admit total defeat. Her reaction had been weird, far stranger and more awkward than the speedster could handle and before he could stop his always running mouth, he'd blurted, "I knew it. You can't compare."

Even the Boy Wonder winced at his words, though the others had tried not to interfere with their conversation throughout the trip. Miss Martian had been communicating with the rest of them mentally, purposely excluding the two with hopes that they might start off on the right track.

Aqualad shook his head and M'gann shot the speedster a pitiful look when Artemis' hardened grey eyes glowered at him.

"To who? Your all time best friend forever? Then where is he?"

Kid Flash faltered as the straps around his torso disappeared and the entrance of the bioship began to open. He had regretted opening his mouth, but his growing anger at her words was dominating. Roy was still his best friend, and he had respected his choices. The newbie had no right to judge him without knowing him.

"Spee- Red Arrow's doing far more important work and has accomplished more than you ever have," his voice had lowered to a whisper as the night breeze blew in from the open entrance.

"You know nothing about me," she answered in the same tone.

"Because you're so secretive and mysterious all the time!"

"At least I'm not always saying the wrong thing or off flirting with everything of opposite gender."

They had both raised their voices unintentionally as they landed in the small clearing and Aqualad muttered a low reprimand at them when the snap of a branch sounded in the trees.

The speedster had just opened his mouth to reply to Artemis' insult when a dozen or so monkeys broke the tree line and entered the clearing.

"Robin," Aqualad grunted as his fist collided with the first monkey that had noticed their presence.

The boy wonder leapt into the air, hopping off the head of one before kicking another in the jaw and turning back in momentum to toss the other. "The coast was clear of _people_, I wasn't expecting killer monkeys."

"You mean someone actually one upped the prodigal genius?" Kid Flash gasped over-dramatically as he zoomed past a few at a time, landing hits on each and every one.

"I'm sure Robin tried his best," M'gann supplied and though Artemis knew the older girl was practically made out of candy and all things rainbow, she couldn't help the eye-roll she sent her way.

She couldn't believe anyone could be so good-natured, and it wasn't the first time she doubted the martian girl's sincerity. At first, it had annoyed Artemis greatly since she had falsely thought M'gann as being fake, but the girl had never done anything to confirm her suspicions. Her niceties were now dismissed by Artemis, though a few like the one before still invited an eye-roll or a groan.

Artemis reached behind her to grab two arrows from the quiver on her back as a couple primates lunged towards her. What she hadn't anticipated was the monkey she'd thought she had incapacitated moments before was still conscious, and it slammed against her lower back with much force.

She stumbled forward, arrows forgotten, and hand flying to the sharp pain on her right side. The monkey swung forward to hit her again, but before she could duck or intercept with one of her own kicks, a blur of yellow and red flashed before her eyes and her opponent flew across the foliage, a hollow crack echoing as it crashed into a tree.

Immediately, her hooded eyes shot to the smug look on a certain speedster's face. She didn't know what was more humiliating, the fact that a rabid monkey had managed to cause her pain, or that it had been Kid Flash that had noticed it.

"I don't need your help," she managed to chew out as her lower back flared in pain.

His eyebrows pinched together in confusion as he stared at her, as if trying to decipher her very being.

The look he gave her was unnerving; his clear eyes seemed to delve into her head and unravel every little secret she had, and it took everything in Artemis to not look away. "You got hit," he finally said.

_No shit_, she thought grudgingly, scowling at him. _I could've handled it._

She narrowed her eyes and straightened her back so she could force the full impact of her glare on him, swallowing the groan when her bruised injury stretched with the movement. "I had everything under control," she said through gritted teeth.

She had expected him to come up with a snarky reply, or at least mutter something incoherent to himself that Artemis could've handled with one of her own quips. But instead, he shot her a disbelieving look and his lips pressed into a thin, disapproving line before he turned back to the battle.

Artemis stared at his blurred back and she couldn't decide whether the red clouding her vision was from his costume, or from her burning anger as she imagined a thousand ways the kid speedster could die. She didn't need his approval. Who did he think he was? Just because he was the sidekick to the almighty Flash, did he think his opinion was valued? Especially by her?

She scoffed and packed all her anger into her roundhouse kick as she sent the primate behind her flying. Halfway through a punch she was aiming at the next one, she felt the familiar prickle of what felt like icy water being splashed on her head- or brain.

_Artemis_, Kaldur's voice echoed.

She halted her punch, a little thrown off her balance by the sudden mental intrusion, and her opponent's fists managed to clip her ribs as she dodged to the left.

_Ouch, thanks Aqualad._

Catching the next lunge, she followed the monkey's movement through and pulled it closer, before hitting it in the back of the head. However, instead of falling unconscious like Artemis had expected, there was a buzz and the monkey's head rolled off, revealing a tangle of sparking wires.

_Woah. _

The others turned towards her at her exclamation, but the archer found them staring at her instead of the short-circuiting robot monkey still in her hands.

_What?_ She snapped, looking at the varied expressions on her new teammates' faces. Most of them looked concerned as they stared at the circle of fallen monkeys around her, but Robin was the only one grinning mischievously at Artemis.

_Nice job, Artemis. _

Aqualad frowned, but he said nothing and pointed to their mission location ahead.

It wouldn't take long for whomever in charge to realise that a dozen robot monkeys had gone off the radar, so the Team continued further as quickly as they could towards the rendezvous location Batman had sent them. They crept in the trees, hidden under the leafy foliage, and Artemis chose a spot near the clearing where she could stay in the shadows whilst maintain good aim on anyone that threatened danger.

She caught yellow and red from the corner of her eye a couple trees down, and she grimaced_. If he steals my shot again…_ Artemis tightened her grip on her bow.

_Do we have a visual?_ Robin's voice echoed in her mind, and the archer grabbed the thick bark next to her to stop herself from toppling out of the tree and blowing their cover.

_I'll never get used to that_, Artemis thought begrudgingly and to her annoyance, Miss Martian replied with consoling words. She'd almost forgotten that her thoughts would be broadcasted to everyone.

Leaning her weight a bit forwards, Artemis peered into the clearing, which seemed empty under the moonlight. But as soon as her eyes accommodated themselves to their surroundings, she noticed that there was a slight square of grass that seemed oddly out of sync with the rest of the patch. It looked like something was hidden underneath, and she wasn't the only one who'd seen it.

_Well, they sure like to get dirty_, Kid Flash remarked and Artemis caught the white of his teeth in the moonlight.

Robin cackled somewhere to her left. _I say we dig into this mystery_, he added and the archer swore that they would have both exchanged a congratulatory high five had they not been five trees apart.

She sighed. _Idiots._

_We can hear you, you know._ Kid Flash's head whipped towards her and she could almost see the glint of his eyes underneath his mask.

_Don't worry_, she sneered at him. _It's no secret._

The Boy Wonder cackled again, but Kid Flash only shook his head before speeding towards the square without a thought.

_Kid!_ Aqualad cautioned, but it had been too late and the speedster was already on that patch of soil.

Artemis hopped down from her spot on the branch as quietly as she could, and she approached the square slowly. She wasn't sure what it meant, but her instincts screamed at her to not go near whatever it was.

_Do you think it's a trapdoor?_ The speedster mused. _A switch? A control panel under the dirt that will open up some hidden doorway somewhere to another hideout?_

A sudden beeping disturbed the silence of the night, and Artemis' eyes widened as she stared at the patch the noise was coming from.

_Maybe not, Kid,_ Robin tried to inject lightness to his words but they all knew what was underneath that stupid square of dirt and grass.

_It is fortunate that it is Kid Flash who had stepped on it. He might be fast enough to outrun its blast_, Aqualad reassured, calm and collected as ever. The archer regarded the wary looks on her other teammates' faces as they all realised that their team leader could be right.

_You guys should move away first, I don't know how far it's range is,_ the speedster commanded, the first time Artemis had seen him so serious.

Perhaps it was the moonlight, or the peaceful backdrop of stars and forest around him, or the slow momentous beeping that constantly reminded Artemis that the speedster was stepping on a land mine and that could possibly be the last minute of his life then, but the way he held himself almost seemed... Fearless. Like he was ready to face anything.

The archer swallowed, but backed away nonetheless, following the footfalls of the others running into the covers of the forest. They'd done nothing but fight since her first day, but still the words flashed in her mind: _too soon_. It was too soon.

When they were at a safe distance from the clearing, Kid Flash's clear voice resonated in their minds.

_Ready?_ He asked, and Artemis knew that if she'd been there with him in her sight, he'd see a determined look on his face, the one he always wore when he tried to prove her wrong.

_Be careful_, Robin advised.

_Okay, stepping off in one... Two..._

Artemis didn't know what made her do it. It could've been the possibility that a teammate- no matter how much they disliked each other- could die, or the fact that this was her first team, or the image of his resigned profile in the clearing that still flashed before her eyelids, or her guilt for underestimating him, but Artemis had said it before she could even think twice about it.

_You're a hero, Wall-man._

And then the explosion went off in the distance.

She heard the muffled cry of Miss Martian behind her and Robin's sharp intake of breath, and realised that she'd been holding her own breath. Instead of averting her eyes from the inferno that burned ahead like Miss Martian and Superboy had- though the latter glanced up at it now and then- Artemis stared straight into the reddish yellow flames, the colour reminding her of the blurred movement of their teammate.

Five minutes passed, and her eyes started to burn, but she didn't blink, and kept her gaze firm on the fire. Another ten ticked by, and she felt Aqualad move beside her, as if turning to leave with a pained expression on his face. She didn't know how, or why, but she trusted her faith in the speedster. There was no way that such an annoying guy would ever have such an easy death.

_We should go report back to Mount Justice_, Robin said, though his eyes never left the fire like Artemis'.

Without realising, another five minutes had passed and Artemis was just about to step back when Superboy's head whipped upwards.

Soon, she could also hear the sound of branches breaking underneath speeding feet, and she couldn't help the smile that was on her face.

Relieved shouts echoed the forest as Robin engulfed the speedster in a giant hug before looking down at his condition.

His costume had been burnt in some areas and badly singed on his back, and Artemis didn't have to have a medical degree to know those burns had to hurt.

Aqualad clapped him on the shoulder as delicately as he could, and Miss Martian gave him a hug before kissing him on the cheek.

"Man, if this is what I get every time I set off a bomb, I'm doing it all the time," Kid Flash commented, and his voice was raspy but still as smug as ever.

Artemis stood at the edge of their little circle, and now that the pressing danger had been solved, another one lurked behind. They failed the mission, though she doubted it was a mission to start off with.

Whatever information Batman had gotten was a ruse, and the mastermind behind this had fed it to him somehow to end his opponents once and for all. The robot monkeys hinted that it could be a revenge plot from Professor Ivo, and Robin knew he wasn't the only one on the same line of thinking when he noticed the frown on Aqualad's face.

"We should stop the fire before we leave," Miss Martian suggested, looking at the rising wall of fire that was expanding quickly. "We'll have to use the bioship, the area's too large for us to cover."

"Agreed," Aqualad replied as the rest of them ran towards the bio ship.

Once the fire had been put out, and they were on their way back to Mount Justice to clean themselves of soot and smoke streaks, Wally's nerves began to settle down and the pain in his back was getting slightly uncomfortable regardless of how advanced his healing was.

Miss Martian changed his seat in favour of a platform so he could lie on his front, and since Artemis had buckled up behind him earlier, she'd gotten a full shot of his burns.

"You need to soothe that skin, and clean it to avoid infection," she said, and looked pointedly at Aqualad.

Wally scoffed, but winced when that action shifted his back muscles. "Who made you the burn expert?"

Artemis ignored his comment and asked if Aqualad had some water to spare, but the Atlantean had answered that the water he had was from the river they'd doused the fire with. The archer didn't want to think about what festered in those waters, and resigned herself to sitting quietly back down without a word.

Until the irritating speedster broke the silence. "So... Back there... Before, you know-" He made an over-exaggerated exploding sound effect. "I thought I heard you say something."

Unintentionally, Artemis' cheeks warmed and she hoped that her tan colour would give nothing away. Not like Kid Flash could see her anyways, since he was lying down and facing the opposite way. She cleared her throat.

"Are you sure you weren't hallucinating because of the-" She copied the noise he'd made earlier.

He didn't answer, and Artemis had thought she'd almost gotten away with it when Robin spun around his chair on the opposite side to grin at her.

"No, I'm pretty sure she said something along the likes of _'You're my hero, Kid Flash, saviour of the human race_'," Robin raised his voice into a squeak as he said it, and Artemis sent him a death glare that rivalled Batman himself when he shot him reprimanding looks.

"Oh, did she?"

"I didn't," she snapped.

"Don't lie to your own heart, Artemis. Feel free to worship me however you like."

"I won't lie, I do feel like I should worship your satisfying life by throwing you off this plane."

"But you _do_ worship me?"

Her lips twitched in spite of herself. "Don't make me pour salt water on your back, Kid."

That shut him up immediately, and she'd been fuming until she saw how close to Happy Harbour they were and caught the look Robin was giving her. It seemed almost grateful.

It was then that she realised that the Kid Flash's silence earlier wasn't because of her denial, but it was due to his pain, and even though she should've been mad at Robin for manipulating her into an argument with the speedster, she was slightly glad that she'd managed to distract him somehow.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh god, I finally joined the tumblr bandwagon and there are so many spitfire fans that give me so much inspiration. Thank you all! Just like how I use writing to vent my frustrations, so many people use touching art and graphics and it makes it so hard to stay whelmed. They're all so beautiful :') **

**Thanks to everyone who continue reading this fic! I had a lot of fun writing this one :) **

**Constructive criticism appreciated ;) **

**PS: Last week's YJ Invasion marathon was full of tears and heartbreaks, and my friend and I have been moping around all week. _Heroes Never Die_. Moment of silence for Wallace West, the goofy, loving, selfless hero and other half of _Spitfire_.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Languages**

* * *

With Wally's aptitude for knowledge, he wasn't quite sure why he wasn't interested in languages. The redhead had always blamed his genetics, since neither of his parents had taken languages during their younger years due to their lacking linguistic skills.

But perhaps he could've tried harder; maybe he could have even taken a class or two or signed himself up for the clubs in high school. He had never regretted his decision in his sixteen years... until now.

"_Bâtard! Casse-toi! Je comprends pas qu'une personne comme toi est capable d'exister... __Merde!"_ The archer tore at her hair, throwing an incredible mixture of a disgusted, angry yet exhausted look his way.

He did not understand a single word she'd said- regardless of which language- but gathered from her tone that they were not things he was sure he wanted to know. The insults were at the very tip of his tongue, ready to fire off, when Robin walked past the two to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Mind your French," he sniggered as he took a swig of his water and shot Artemis an amused look. Unlike Wally, the Boy Wonder was fluent in many languages, and had understood every word the archer had uttered.

She turned her glare onto him and let out another string of curses- in Vietnamese, Wally managed to recognise this time- and the Boy Wonder stalked off with red ears and his palms up in defence. Wally wasn't sure what to say of it.

"Wait... You were insulting me in _French_?"

She looked at him, her grey eyes darkening like the sky during a hurricane. "Yeah, is that another problem for you too?"

A strange feeling bubbled in Wally's chest and he let out a short burst of laughter. Her eyes narrowed at him, but he ignored it as he looked at her with his eyes crinkled in amusement. "You do know that the point of insulting someone is so that you can hurt their feelings right?"

"What am I, an idiot?" She snapped, but he continued shaking his head to contain his laughter and it wasn't long before Artemis caught on. She almost wished she hadn't.

"It's not my fault you're an imbecile who knows nothing but English," she spluttered, and slammed her frozen pop tart onto the counter.

Wally's eyes followed the movement with a frown. He'd almost forgotten what the fight had been about. It was only because he'd suggested putting the poptart in the toaster would taste better than the microwave, and she'd retaliated that she knew what she was doing and didn't need him and his 'gut guru' to tell her how to enjoy her food, and then he'd insulted her poor lack of taste, and that had escalated into her yelling at him in French.

"Not all of us had time when there were crimes to be punished," he retorted.

"Oh please, you out of all of us had the least training."

"Says the one who only started a month ago."

"I joined my uncle's little tag team when Speedy quit. Didn't mean that I wasn't in action before that." _That was technically true_, she thought.

"Sure, I believe you."

The archer huffed and gave him another heated look before tossing her poptart into the microwave, daring him to challenge her.

Artemis had been surprised at the rate he'd recovered from his burns, and secretly relieved, though she'd rather be dead than admit that aloud. With three members of the Team in Atlantis, she wasn't even sure why she had even bothered to show up at the Cave tonight. It was her only night off from afterschool activities, and her mom wasn't returning home until later that night. Maybe it was the small part inside her that didn't feel like eating dinner alone, but had she known that Kid Butt would have been here, she would have gladly ordered Chinese and watched late night reruns.

It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them that whatever had gone down in Bialya a few days ago was to remain a secret. They had bonded somehow, underneath the pale, searing sun of the desert, and though none of them had said it, they were both slightly grateful that the other one had been there when they had woken up. Except their memories were returned and Artemis was more than disturbed to find she had bonded with the bane of her existence.

"What's that?" His curiosity interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up from her textbook, the end of her pencil still in her mouth as she'd been chewing it during her pondering. It was a bad habit that left the taste of lead in her mouth, but she seemed to always return to it unconsciously no matter how hard she tried to stop.

"Chemistry," she answered, eyeing Wally (when had she started calling him by his name?) carefully.

The speedster grinned, flexing his fingers confidently as he strode towards her with purpose. Languages weren't his thing, but science had always been one of his best points. He stopped a few feet away from her as she slid her textbook his way, and Wally tried not to look at the pencil tip that was still balanced delicately between her lips.

His eyes focused onto the words and pictures on the textbook and he found that she'd been doodling on the margins with arrows and lots of endless circles. Even the serious archer had normal teenage tendencies. Wally fought to hide his smile, and he pointed to the question she'd been pondering over.

"It's an oxidation reaction, see?"

The microwave beeped and the archer left her pencil on the counter to grab her poptart. "I know it's an oxidation reaction," she answered, her words almost incoherent with the poptart in her mouth. "I checked the answers. I just want to know why."

Wally grinned and launched into a full explanation, waving his hands occasionally to emphasise the movement of electrons, and Artemis nodded as she continued devouring her poptart. The archer knew Wally was intelligent, since he'd managed to recreate the Flash's experiment, but she had not known how much he loved what he studied until now.

She watched his light green eyes twinkle and his lips curved into a permanent smile, and she couldn't help but give a small one of hers in return.

It hadn't gone unnoticed by Wally, and he'd almost forgotten what he'd been explaining when he had caught her with a tender look in her eyes. He'd never seen the archer look so relaxed, and he shook his head before continuing on.

Neither of them had noticed the shadow behind the couch, staring at the scene with wonder. Robin wasn't sure he'd ever seen them last five minutes without insults and a lot of yelling. He had just returned from debriefing with Batman on Bialya, and on the revenge plot that had nearly killed the speedster when he had decided to grab a bottle of water.

The pair seemed too engrossed in their argument to notice that he'd only retired to the couch, and he watched with amazement as Artemis nodded in understanding and even thanked Wally for the help. Then, Robin had almost fallen off the couch when the speedster had offered his help whenever she needed it.

The Boy Wonder acted on instinct then, wanting this serene truce they seemed to have developed to continue, and he asked the archer, "Why are you doing Chemistry? I thought you were on break."

Of course, no one else but him knew that Artemis was starting at his school in a couple weeks. He saw her in a new light at that moment, as he figured that she was doing extra work to keep up with Gotham Academy's high standards.

"I don't want to fall behind since joining the team," she answered smoothly, popping the last chunk of poptart in her mouth before washing her hands.

"Don't you have a grade point average of 4?" Robin asked too innocently, and Wally turned to stare at Artemis with wide eyes.

"Don't you have other things to do with your time than interrogating fellow teammates?" Artemis replied, narrowing her eyes at the younger boy.

Wally ignored their conversation as he watched the archer wipe her hands dry with a small towel hanging on the oven door. _A GPA of 4?_

He hadn't known Artemis was the studious type. To him, she seemed to be the easy-going kind of student, the one that didn't really care about what she wanted after school- or anything at all, actually. He had expected her to be rebellious, apathetic, and not the least clever-and Wally realised he knew nothing about the archer. She knew his name, where he lived, where he went to school, but Wally knew nothing about her. Well, he had always suspected she lived in Gotham despite her uncle living in Star City, since she often arrived smelling faintly of smoke, a scent that Robin carried too.

"Wait, you're _smart_?" He asked, and he realised a little too late when the blonde had turned on him that his question had come out a little too brusquely than intended.

"Is that so hard to believe?" She rounded on him, whatever peace they had established disappeared along with her textbook as she took it from him.

"Yes- I mean no?" He blinked at her, still a bit confounded at this piece of news.

She scowled and tucked the pencil she'd been chewing earlier behind her ear as she picked up her books. "You're an ass."

"For helping you with chemistry?"

She glared up at him. "I didn't need help. You just barged in and decided I was some damsel in distress."

Wally's jaw dropped and he realised that this conversation was beginning to sound familiar. "You were staring at that question for a while."

"I was thinking about other things, what's it to you anyways?"

The speedster stared at her and realised she had a point. Still, it did not mean that her words hadn't stung a little bit. He thought they'd at least gotten past disliking each other, but he'd reminded himself that she was still the outsider that had shown up out of nowhere one day, smirking and patronising him. "Absolutely nothing," he finally answered, a little too softly, and if he had looked up from the counter, he would've seen a tiny flicker of regret in the archer's eyes. "I don't even know why I offered to help."

Artemis turned away from him before she could do anything reckless. What was it about Wally that gave her whiplash? He was sorta nice one second, then completely annoying, and then acting like a kicked puppy the next.

"Exactly," she answered firmly, before marching off to another room, preferably one without the speedster.

Across the room, Robin shook his head. And he thought that the peace would last somehow. He should've estimated as much, the two were always in discordance with each other. If only they could be in cordance.

Wally watched her leave and heaved a sigh, before moving to join Robin in front of the TV.

"How about a game?" He asked, taking out the game controllers from the cabinet under the TV.

"Sure," the Boy Wonder answered, giving a little shrug.

As usual, after about twenty games or so, Wally had lost the majority of them. Though he usually lost against the younger boy anyways, Robin knew he was distracted since he had lost far more than usual, and it didn't take much to know what occupied the speedster's thoughts.

"It's Artemis, isn't it?" He finally asked, putting down his controller.

Wally turned to him with a surprised look on his face.

"It's not? I doubt it's anything but Artemis," Robin added.

The older boy sighed and slung one arm over his eyes. "Is it wrong of me to want to know more?"

"About her?"

Wally scoffed. "I thought we'd just established that."

Robin stared at his friend unblinkingly and there was something about the way Wally acted that reminded him of a word he wasn't sure he wanted to say. "Are you... Lovesick?"

The speedster's arm fell from his face immediately as he straightened and looked at Robin with widened eyes. "What the actual fu-"

"-I'm wrong?" Robin interjected before the older boy made his ears bleed. He had heard enough from Artemis earlier.

"Of course you are!" Wally exclaimed, his voice incredulous. "I just meant that we know nothing about her, and yet she's invited to join the Team. She's also secretly smart, and has a 4 point GPA and have you seen how she fights? It's not how an amateur fights. She could be a spy for all we know!"

"She's not though, don't you think you're overreacting a little?" Robin rolled his eyes.

"She could be a Russian spy, or maybe she has an evil twin brother we don't even know about who's looking for revenge and-"

Robin cackled, interrupting Wally's rant.

"She's just one of us, Wally. She'll trust us soon enough, but we'll have to trust her first."

The knowing smile Robin shot him was unnerving and as much as he knew that he was older, the Boy Wonder sometimes seemed twenty years wiser than he could ever be. With a sigh, Wally slumped back in his seat and picked up the controller.

"Another round?"

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**Thanks again to everyone who read this fic, it means a lot to me when I see the number of views. I post only to share everyone's_ dem feels_ when it comes to Spitfire. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi again, guys! I've been getting so emotional every time I think of Wally recently, it's depressing. My chemistry teacher said "-in a flash" in class this week, and I started tearing up. Wally, come back!**

**Thanks to all these lovely people, you guys make me try upload every weekend:**

**Black Bat Girl, Gorgeous Chaos, MusicLoverBLD, ZeroV, ingrid, spitfireforever, Arrowlover17**

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**Chapter 4: Trust**

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If there was one thing Wally liked more than biomolecular science and food, it was seeing the newest addition to the team flip out.

It was no secret that Artemis wasn't exactly warm and friendly. She was always in her own little shut off bubble regardless of how many times M'gann asked if she wanted to 'hang out', or no matter how cheesy Robin's bad puns were. She was always so stiff, as if opening up was like a blade to the stomach, and anger was the only way she expressed herself.

She was like a jigsaw puzzle with 'over a thousand pieces' labeled on its box. Though it took a while before she even allowed herself to laugh in their presence- like it took some time to find the single puzzle piece to fix - Wally found himself becoming more curious as each day passed and another piece was added to the growing picture.

Some days he caught his own gaze lingering too long in her direction, and wondered if the reason she clenched her fists so frequently was due to his unintentional ogling, or if there were some inner demons she was sheltering from them. On better days, his ears strained to fully capture the archer's laugh as his brain tried to memorise the sound, and he'd find himself smiling along with her even though he'd never heard the punchline.

_Maybe it's my diet_, he perused often, but even his oh so reliable gut told him it wasn't so. His eyes were constantly searching for her lithe profile, and it got especially irritating during missions. The Kid Flash, fastest kid on earth, had managed to get punched in the jaw for not dodging quickly enough, just because a certain blonde silhouette had escaped from his view.

_It's all her fault_, he'd been fuming when M'gann had been patching him up. The Martian had persisted even though he'd told her that he healed faster than any of them did, and if it had been any other time, he would have relished the older girl's fingers on his face, but all he could feel was the ebbing ache in his jaw and emasculating humiliation.

The vexation he felt at himself for even bothering to look out for the archer's welfare, for even noticing that she didn't like the stillness of silence, for even realising that she wasn't at all bad increased, and as soon as his gaze had landed on the unsuspecting culprit entering the room, the words came tumbling out of his mouth. "You're a liability to this team."

"Wally!" M'gann gasped, her fingers pausing over his tender jaw. His anger faltered at the older girl's reprimand, but he should've known Artemis wasn't one to forgive and forget.

As usual, a fierce spark lit up in the feisty archer's eyes, and her one eyebrow rose immaculately in challenge. "Says the one cuddling his jaw like a sore baby."

In an instant, his hand left his jaw and he felt his irritation grow tenfold towards her. All her fault, the little voice in his head echoed and he suppressed a wince when he accidentally chomped down too hard on his already sore jaw. Miss Martian shot him a worried look, but he shook his head, and she stepped back. The tension in the air was palpable, even the Martian could feel its crackling pressure, and she sent both of them a brief cautious look before exiting the room.

The speedster's eyes never left from Artemis' cold gaze, and he crossed his arms. "Am not. Besides, if you hadn't been such an attention-seeking annoyance in the first place, then maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Her eyes narrowed into slits, and her grey eyes darkened along with the room's ambiance. "Don't you blame this on me when you yourself f***ed up and got punched in the face. In fact, I'm glad the guy got a shot. I'm just jealous it hadn't been me."

"Like you'd be able to hit me in the first place."

"Says the fastest kid who can dodge a bullet but not a weak punch by some human."

"Not my fault you were being so distracting."

"And how was I being distracting?"

She looked at him expectantly as his tongue felt like an annealed rod of metal in his mouth. Suddenly, he wished M'gann hadn't left them alone. A million answers sprung into his mind, but all he could see was her bright hair dancing under the fluorescent light, slightly unravelling from the tight bundle she usually tied together, and the slender form of her figure accentuated by her costume.

"You fight like a girl," he blurted, a warm sensation tingling onto his cheeks as he continued with the first explanations he could scramble up. "And you make too much noise when you fight. Also, you're too slow."

She narrowed his eyes and even Wally knew then that his lies had been completely unconvincing. He knew the archer would think he was comparing her to Red Arrow again, and though he'd rather not face her fury since their relationship had improved somewhat, the former option was better than giving her the satisfaction of knowing that she affected him.

Much to his chagrin, the archer stormed towards him, her fists clenched to her sides and her eyes flashing with an untameable spark. He tried hard not to cower into the infirmary bed he sat on and held his head high as she slammed her fists on either side of him. She leaned down to his eye level, and scowled.

"Maybe you should follow your own 'helpful' tips yourself. Because the next time you dare criticise my skills, I'll punch you in the face."

Wally nodded hesitantly, her words registering in his mind much slower than usual. Fear should have been coursing through his veins as well as a burning fury that would've retaliated against hers, but instead, he picked up on the things he shouldn't have. Like how her warmth radiated mere centimetres away, or how her inner arm had slightly grazed his elbow, or how the curl of hair that had escaped her ponytail was tickling his collarbone.

Too soon or too long after- Wally couldn't decide- the archer retreated, sending him one last dirty look before striding confidently out of the room. As soon as the last wisp of blonde hair disappeared from his sight, the speedster released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and flung himself backwards onto the bed. _What was he doing?_

Just when he'd thought he'd found another piece to the puzzle, he had lost another. But that wasn't all he had lost. Gone was the deep dislike he felt for the archer, and as much as it scared him to say so, he might actually, sorta, maybe... Think she was alright.

* * *

Everything was in chaos.

Without the Justice League, the Team knew they had little chance of defeating the _In_justice League. _It was strange how two little letters could change so much_, the Boy Wonder thought darkly as he evaded each deadly plant Poison Ivy sent his way.

Their experience was close to none compared to their opponents, and the likelihood of death seemed to be increasing with each defensive move Robin pulled. But he knew their chances weren't crucial. The mission objective was to shut down the main signalling plant, and regardless of defeating the Injustice League or not, all depended on their task.

_Robin!_ called the Martian girl as she appeared out of nowhere, obliterating the plants blocking his path.

He narrowly avoided one rising under his foot that threw him off his rhythm, but he couldn't stop. _Where are the others?_

As soon as he'd asked, a glowing cage above them unhinged and he could see the faint silhouettes of his other team members falling down from the sky.

Being the only human, even though she had a slightly above average endurance, Artemis swallowed nervously at the height. She was falling rapidly and she had barely enough time to shift her position when the ground came rushing at her, and she landed on her feet- and one knee- with a painful thud. Adrenaline pumped in her veins and she rose immediately from her crouch, noticing that Kaldur was the only one next to her.

A bright orange blur caught her eye for a moment, and she glanced at Wally briefly before grabbing her bow and arrows- only to notice they were gone. Without much to work with, Artemis exchanged a glance with Kaldur. "I feel so naked... and not in a fun way."

Aqualad tilted his head. "Agreed."

He shot the unamused archer a look that she understood even before he verbally shouted one of the manoeuvres they'd been working on, and she ran towards him without pausing a beat as he threw her upwards.

Artemis flew through the air, and she did a somersault to increase the momentum of her kick. The satisfying crunch of the plant woman's face underneath her boots sent a familiar thrill through Artemis, and she fought on with this newfound confidence when she heard a sound to her left.

Her eyes flitted to its direction for just a moment, and without realising, her movement faltered when she noticed a glaring speck of orange lying in the muddy swamp water. A part of her was rejoicing that this would show him that her combat skills were infinitely better, but surprisingly, the majority of her conscience spoke differently and she let her concerned eyes rest on the figure for a while.

_Anytime now..._

A few moments later, Wally struggled to his feet and relief rushed through her when she released a breath she'd been holding. _Thank god._

The archer's surroundings kicked in, and she shook her head to clear her mind, starting for Poison Ivy again when the latter used the brief distraction to her advantage, and a stem shot towards her, knocking her backwards.

Artemis had barely gotten onto her feet when the havoc around them paused as an earth-shuddering explosion shook the ground they fought on, and the air was suddenly leaden with smoke. The archer narrowed her eyes to peer up at the triumphant shadows of her teammates, and she felt the glow that accompanied success rush through her. _Mission accomplished._

Except it hadn't been a recon mission, and as soon as the fight halted, the chaos ensued again. Too quickly for her mind to fully comprehend, one by one her teammates were apprehended and she'd just come to her senses when a ringing sound entered her ears as a mind numbing pain started across her forehead. Cradling her head in her hands, she could see the figure of Count Vertigo towering over her, and she closed her eyes shut tightly when the ringing doubled.

"Leave her alone," came an authoritative voice to her left, and she opened one eye to catch a grim look on Wally's face. If she hadn't been in such agony, she would've gaped at the speedster. His hands shook with the rest of his body, no doubt a sign of weakness from having been thrown around like a rag doll, but despite that, his vivid viridian eyes glared at the count, his gaze as steady as steel.

But then, things turned for the worse. Artemis had caught several flashes of light from her closed eyelids when a force hit her side and it shoved her to the ground, keeping her still. She had only opened her eyes for a few moments when the pressure disappeared, and she caught a figure dressed in gold, the Helmet of Fate on his head, floating towards Wotan. She stood up, eyes searching for the speedster and what she saw made her breath halt in her throat.

Without hesitating this time, the archer ran to his still figure and shook his shoulder.

"Kid! Hey, Kid! Wake up!"

He moaned and shoved her hand away with his other arm. "I think my arm's broken."

Artemis felt her eyes widen in shock as she stared at his arm. The confident, ever a pain in the arse Wally was injured, and she had always thought that it would be a day she'd look forward to, except in reality this was much more different than what she'd expected.

"Move your ass, Wally. You're going to get smashed," she tugged gently on his other arm as she helped him to his feet.

A small, feminine groan echoed behind them and Wally's head whipped towards its source, his broken arm forgotten. "M'gann!"

In an instant, the speedster whirled past Count Vertigo, ripping off a piece of his cloak in the process, and despite the shock still running in her system, Artemis relied on her instincts to run as fast as she could towards them, jumping to aim a kick to the count's jaw once she'd gotten close enough.

As soon as she'd landed on her feet, her eyes searched for her teammates again, spotting the redhead behind a tree trunk and M'gann levitating towards Robin's direction.

Artemis wasn't sure what made her follow the speedster. In her mind she had already turned around to join Miss Martian and the Boy Wonder, but instead her feet had led her straight ahead towards the fiery orange behind the dark oak of a tree. When she caught the speedster's expression however, she could care less why.

Wally's eyes were shut tightly in pain as he tried to move his arm to press it against his torso, and his teeth were gritted together to suppress a yell. With a feather touch and quick fingers, Artemis grabbed the piece of cloak from his other hand before making a makeshift sling for him.

"Hey! That's my souvenir!"

She glanced up at him with a cynical, raised brow before lowering her gaze back to his arm. "Stay still."

She'd just finished the knot around his shoulder when she looked up, shocked at the vulnerable, slightly moist state of his deep eyes staring into her own. They knew they would never mention whatever had passed between them at that moment, but Wally gave her a slight nod of appreciation and she returned his gesture with a small twitch of her lips.

The danger was far from over, but somehow, in all the midst of the Joker gas threatening to overtake the world, the two teammates had done something that would affect their lives more than their mission objective or saving Earth; they began to trust each other.

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**It's not a fantastic chapter, but I've decided to revise everything once I finish uploading every chapter I've planned. Thanks for reading! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: There's not much spitfire in this chapter, but I added in a small part in the end which might be rushed and insignificant. So, shoot your criticisms at me!**

**I know I write for fun and because there's no other way for me to express my feels when it comes to Spitfire, but thanks to everyone who actually encourage me to post them online. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my little babies and it means so much just to see email notifications :)**

**Thank you to:**

**Black Bat Girl, Gorgeous Chaos, Misa3000, MusicLoverBLD, NinjaBagel, ZeroV, ingrid, marinelife2299, spitfireforever, star-eye, Arrowlover17, doggybye, kateygirl7**

**PS: ****I recently went over to a friend's house and played Injustice League for the first time... Umm... IT'S SO COOL. I practically cried at seeing Flash (even though it's Barry Allen). It's holidays soon, so I will be writing more! **

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**Chapter 5: Death**

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_Death, in itself, is nothing; but we fear,__  
__To be we know not what, we know not where.__-John Dryden, Aureng-Zebe__  
_

'What was death like?'

That had been the curve ball Black Canary had thrown Artemis during their therapy session in the aftermath of the simulation failure. _Relieving_, Artemis had found herself answering, almost willing herself to believe it. _Rather peaceful, like I never existed in the world in the first place._

The older woman had merely raised an eyebrow at her mellow response, but Artemis had been adamant to keep her inner turmoil a secret. The truth was entirely too horrific to even think about for Artemis, let alone explain. Being dead had been complete nothingness, and that terrified the archer.

The stubborn blonde had always been a believer of the great adventure after death, and the fact that dying had been so easy- so completely unexpected- Artemis tried with much difficulty to keep the memories of the experience pressed deep down into her subconscious. In that one second she had been there, and the next, whilst she had not even realised what had happened, she had been nothing at all.

The darkness seemed to linger closer to her consciousness more than ever, and she felt the shadows deep within the recesses of her mind constantly coaxing itself out of its hiding place. She felt zombified, like she had somehow died and given the chance to resurrect, except death still kept her in its bony grasp and no matter how hard she tried to blink the dark spots in her vision away, they'd appear suddenly, and without notice.

For the first time in her life, Artemis Crock was frightened for her safety, for the risks that came with her job, and being only sixteen made her question whether her mother had been right all along. This was no life for a mere teenager, only she knew that once you were in, you'd never get out. That was what her life was entitled to, and fear or no fear, Artemis wasn't one to give up so easily.

But the archer knew she wasn't the only one mentally scarred. She knew her teammates had experienced worse horror than she had and constantly, Artemis felt at fault in their presence. After all, Martian Manhunter had said that it had been her death that had triggered M'gann's subconscious, and the archer felt that it was best to avoid the team for a while after the fiasco.

Everything had changed in the Cave since the simulation. Daily therapy sessions were required and though Artemis knew she wasn't really alright yet deep within her, she tried her best to keep her distance. She didn't want to remind them of the reason (_or the person_) why they'd been sucked into that hellish nightmare in the first place.

However, her attempts had been futile considering she had to attend Black Canary's little stare-down therapy every day, and she had only managed to avoid her teammates the first three days when she had unintentionally walked past the living room they'd been loitering in.

Superboy had caught her gaze with surprise and the archer had felt the need to escape from the pressing air of grief around them, but M'gann had spotted her from behind the kitchen counter and had given a strangled cry.

"Artemis!" She gasped, as if she was shocked to see her there with them- _alive._

She offered the older girl a smile and knew from the tearful expression on her friend's face that she had succeeded more of a grimace instead.

M'gann's moist eyes took her in, and the archer had barely enough time to stand her ground before she was assaulted with a tight hug. "We missed you," M'gann murmured in a strained voice.

Artemis felt the back of her eyes itch and she patted the Martian's back gently. "Thanks, M'gann."

When the older girl had finally let her go, the room's ambiance was an edge lighter than before and there was even a small smile on Connor's face.

"And she's alive!" came Robin's attempt at a joke next to her and she allowed herself to crack a smile at him.

"Why the long faces?" She added, letting her eyes narrow with mock sympathy at her friends. "You all looked like someone died in here."

Robin forced a chuckle and M'gann offered a meek 'yeah' as the others all watched her with stoic expressions. If she hadn't been fighting thoughts of death in her mind, Artemis would've winced at her bad joke. _Too soon.__  
_  
Looking up, she couldn't help but notice the flash of orange that was leaning against the wall further away, and she craned her neck a little upwards to catch sight of the speedster, when he had disappeared from her sight as soon as he had appeared.

"What's the matter with Kid Moody?"

The Boy Wonder's mouth opened to answer her, but he had decided against it at the last moment, and he turned his head away from her to stare at the direction Wally had gone.

"Wally has some stuff to figure out at the moment... He took the brunt of everything harder than the rest of us," he replied, and Artemis did not miss the slight glance he had shot at her three remaining teammates.

The archer frowned, but said nothing. She didn't think Wally was the brood alone type, but then again, she hadn't expected Kid Flash to be such a _Wally_ anyways.

"Is it rude for me to ask where you have been in the past few days?" Kaldur interjected, and her eyes whipped towards their team leader's serene silver eyes.

She swallowed, but managed to execute a nonchalant shrug before making a noncommittal sound. "Busy."

The Boy Wonder's eyes narrowed suspiciously under his mask- Artemis could only tell by the little crease between his eyebrows- and he approached her slowly. "You weren't avoiding us, were you?"

"Of course not," she replied swiftly.

Kaldur's clear gaze sized her up, and though he nodded and made his way to the hallway, he still gave her a worried look over his shoulder.

Robin soon followed him out, having to have another rebriefing with Batman, and he patted her arm gently before leaving. "You'll be here tomorrow, Artemis. Or... I'm telling Batman."

Though his words carried a threat she did not appreciate, his tone was light and airy, and she shrugged him off with a smirk. "Ooh, I'm terrified."

He cackled before saluting her goodbye. Then there were three, and with just her and the alien couple in the room, Artemis couldn't help but feel intrusive on their closeness. She had expected them to stare uncomfortably intensely at each other as they'd done so often before, but both were hovering around her, faces tight with nightmares that still haunted their thoughts.

Out of nowhere, Superboy marched towards her with his thick eyebrows furrowed and his clenched fists by his side. "Don't say anything you'll regret," he warned, and Artemis had been about to retort in his face when he turned around abruptly before storming out of the room.

The archer had turned to lift a questioning eyebrow at M'gann, but her gaze lowered when she realised that the Martian had plopped herself down onto the floor, her head between her knees. The archer noted her position in shock as she approached her, letting her hand rest on M'gann's arm gently.

"Hey, you okay?" she inquired.

The redhead lifted her head momentarily to send Artemis a grim and apologetic look that sent waves of guilt crashing over the latter. "I'm fine," M'gann whispered, before resting her chin on her knees again.

"Listen, I'm _really_ sorry-"

"-no, forgive me, I-"

Both girls spoke at the same time as Artemis' mouth opened in surprise and she closed it, before hesitantly moving to sit down next to her friend, sharing whatever warmth she could still muster.

"Nobody blames you," Artemis reassured after a few moments of silence, as she gave her fingers a slight squeeze.

"But-" M'gann's breath rattled through her lungs, and she looked up at Artemis with liquid pooling in her eyes. "You should. You _died_... Hello, M'gann!" Her low, hollow laugh reverberated through the empty room. "It was my fault. You were in a coma. Even _you_ thought you were dead, and it was all _my_ fault and-"

The archer shook her head adamantly, and for the first time since she joined the Team, she enveloped M'gann's fragile frame in a crushing hug. "I shouldn't have died. I started the whole nightmare," she admitted aloud, expecting the Martian's body to freeze in her arms and push her away, but the Martian only held onto her tighter.

"That's silly, Artemis. I've never heard anyone on Earth apologise for death," came the muffled voice against Artemis' shoulder. "Is this why you've been avoiding us?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" She asked, slightly miffed despite it being the truth.

"You ran away from us after you'd woken up."

Artemis grimaced as memories from that night filtered through her mind. She'd remembered how disorientated she'd been, how lost and frightened, thinking she'd slept for a millennia instead of the twenty minutes they had told her. Then, the short briefing arrived and the fact that she'd been the one to trigger what was only natural for the Martian... It had been entirely her fault. She had been too careless. To think, she had been the first to trip up in the mission- a simulation nonetheless- and it had been a failure that had impacted the others more than she'd wanted it to.

"Just don't hide from us anymore, okay?" M'gann requested as she pulled away from Artemis with a soft, shaky smile on her face. "I think we all need to see your face for a while around here. Especially Wally."

The speedster's name snapped Artemis from her thoughts and she voiced the question that had been plaguing her since their earlier meeting. "What exactly happened to Wally in there?"

M'gann winced and averted her gaze to the tiled, grey floor. "Same thing that happened to all of us: you _died_."

* * *

It had been nearly a week of therapy sessions when Artemis had had enough. Especially since her superhero therapist had hit a nerve in their most recent session.

The words had tumbled out of the archer's lips before she'd even realised. "_Can you even imagine what Wally would think?"_

Like she even cared what the linguistically challenged idiot thought. Thinking about the redhead riled her up even more, and she wanted nothing else but to hunt down the speedster and scream profanities at him, except nowadays the archer barely saw him. She had been showing up at the Cave more recently, though she never saw Wally except for the telltale blaze of his orange hair skulking around corners.

And even if she did conveniently find him, he would never show her anything more than one of his disturbing forced smiles.

Artemis snorted, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. She had thought Wally had been bad after Kent Nelson's death, but Wally seemed even more distant now than he did then. There was something inside of her that was clawing its way out- sympathy perhaps, or worry- but whatever it was, she would keep it to herself and prove Black Canary wrong. She was Artemis Crock, and she did not care about what a snivelling, nerdy little redhead thought about her.

Only the redheaded, insufferable moron gave her every reason to worry about his wellbeing. His behaviour was no longer predictable; it was completely erratic, and Artemis couldn't remember the last time she had caught the speedster near the fridge or stealing one of M'gann's cookies.  
He was sometimes easily annoyed at her, or sometimes bizarrely cordial, and he had given Artemis major whiplash during a recent mission a couple days ago.

In the middle of combat, she had whipped around, arrow loaded to shoot whoever it was behind her, only to find an unconscious body and a flash of yellow and red.

"I thought we'd settled this," she had huffed, letting the foam arrow fly towards the feet of another villain not far away. "I can handle myself, Wally."

There hadn't been a reply, and she had given the speedster a brief glance to find that he had been hovering around her, tackling down the further ones that were approaching her.

Although preoccupied, Artemis had glanced at his blurred silhouette frequently throughout the battle. As she took down all the ones closer to her, she had stopped to glare at the yellow shadow that was still circling her.

Annoyed, she had taken a trick arrow and shot it a few feet away from Wally, and waited as it hit the ground just as he stepped into its vicinity. The arrow exploded, but Artemis had already predicted that he'd be faster as he jumped out of its range.

"Are you trying to kill me?" He'd turned towards her, the most riled up she'd seen in a week. Distracted by his anger towards her, Wally hadn't noticed the threat behind him and with a roll of her eyes, Artemis had shot one of her arrows at the oncoming villain.

Yelping, he'd ducked, but soon realised that he had not been the target. That hadn't stopped him from rounding on her though, and as soon as Artemis had reloaded her bow, he had been directly in front of her, his green eyes as scorching as a forest fire.

"Do you have a problem?" He'd half-yelled into her face.

Irritated at the fact that he'd taken her shots, then accused her of trying to kill him when he hadn't been listening to what she'd been saying, and then having the gall to say that she was the one with the problem, Artemis leaned forward, refusing to back down.

"Yeah, I have a problem with you!"

"You're so-"

"-like you're any better-"

"-not even grateful-"

"-should I be?" She demanded as he faltered. "I'm not some delicate little girl, Wally. I can take care of myself. Don't you dare look down on me."

"I- you- I'm not!" He spluttered, before he averted his eyes to the sky in an exasperated yet exhausted manner. "Is trying to keep you alive such a bad thing? Well, I'm sorry, Little Miss Capable." Wally's chest rose with every breath, and Artemis' eyes had been wide when his words had finally registered.

The archer had known that her teammates had been impacted by her supposed death, but out of all of them, she hadn't expected Wally to be so deeply affected. She had been- and still was sort of touched- but she'd never tell him that and it still didn't change the fact that he was being annoying. _Protection_, she snorted. _He was no Superman- or boy._

She had taken a step closer to shove his chest roughly. "Like I said, I can take care of myself. And why should you care? As soon as I'm gone, your little arrow buddy will be here to replace me. Just stay away from my shots, Wally. Or you'll be the one that needs saving." She nocked an arrow in her bow for emphasis.

He had scowled, but the fire in his eyes was doused, and he had that guarded look on his face again, the one he'd been wearing the whole entire week, the one that was beginning to replace his carefree, friendly grin and masked his bright, viridescent eyes.

Artemis frowned when she saw his grim expression. Frankly speaking, she actually missed the old Wally.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Love hearing from you guys :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter, and I think the traught fics I've been reading kinda influenced the last bit. Sorry! It was really so much fun though. It's the holidays right now and although I have heaps of time on my hands, I'm _stuck_. :( **

**Thanks again to all these people, seriously, I would've stopped ages ago if it weren't for you guys:**

**Arrowlover17, BittyCatt, Cinomen, Misa3000, Zatanna Carrile, ZeroV, doggy bye, kateygirl7, Black Bat Girl, Gorgeous Chaos, MusicLoverBLD, NinjaBagel, ingrid, maewander25, marinelife2999, spitfireforever, star-eye**

**PS: Wow I can't believe the follow and favs are almost two lines when I type it up, thank you guys so much :)**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Souvenir**

* * *

Between the green eyed gazes that shadowed her every move, and the torn looks that were constantly sent her way, Artemis was beginning to lose her slippery grasp on her almost non-existent patience.

Whatever was wrong with Wally West, the archer wanted it to stop. _Now._

Sure, she could handle his spite, his sharp tongue, and the fiery spark in his eyes whenever he disagreed with her, but ever since the simulation, he often had a lost look on his face that would appear whenever she caught him staring, and it was starting to unnerve her. It reminded her of the covert, meaningful glances Black Canary and her mentor exchanged sometimes when they thought no one was looking, and the archer almost balked at the idea.

_Not gonna go there._

Though she was worried, and slightly pissed off, Artemis hadn't done anything to confront the speedster, fearing a deep conversation that she didn't ever want to have especially with _him. _Besides, the last time that almost happened, Artemis had shot at him. But enough was enough, and Artemis wasn't one to run away from her problems. Even if it meant that she'd have to D&M with someone who was called _Kid _by everyone.

It had been a Tuesday, and all of them had just finished one of their temporary therapy sessions when it happened. The archer had been about to leave, and had just picked up her bag to sling it over her shoulder when she saw the familiar shade of orange peeking out from behind the couch, and involuntarily, her feet made their way towards the slouched figure.

Wally had clearly been deep in thought, because his eyes widened in fear when he finally noticed the blonde shadow looming over him. His muscles were coiled tight ready to run off at any moment, but the archer had anticipated his next move and with quick reflexes, Wally's shirt sleeve was pinned to the armrest of the sofa with a fork.

He glanced up with his mouth slightly open in shock. "Are you insane?"

_Possibly. For even trying to attempt this, _the archer told herself though she congratulated herself on her aim. She had known the speedster would try and evade her since they had not forgotten their little spat on their last mission, and it had been an effective way in capturing his attention nonetheless.

"No comment," she answered coolly, before crossing her arms and leaning back on her heels as she gave him an once-over. "You look like a mess."

Wally forced a smile and focused on the potted plant behind her shoulder. "A _hot_ mess."

The archer rolled her eyes and seated herself on the coffee table facing him. His gaze drifted to her, lingering on her lithe movements and the wisps of blonde hair that always escaped the tight grasp of her ponytail, and when he stared into her grey eyes, something stuck in Wally's throat and he looked away hastily.

The weird feeling he had gotten sporadically since months ago had increased, and he didn't have to know quantum physics to know that it had something to do with the archer. It wasn't like he hadn't seen plenty of pretty girls before- not like Artemis was pretty or anything.

_More like beautiful_, reminded a tiny voice in his head and he almost groaned aloud.

Of course Wally was an A-class clown but he could be logical when he wanted to, and according to statistics, she'd never be interested in someone like him. Besides, he wasn't attracted to her _at all_. She was sarcastic, cruel, cold, and about a billion other insults he couldn't think of at the moment.

But then, there was some movement in the corner of his vision, and his eyes slid to her profile for a second when his breath caught in his throat. The strands of hair that had been coming loose had started to tickle her face, and Artemis had untied her ponytail, causing the glossy curtain of blonde to curl around her face like a halo.

Wally swallowed, and tried not to notice how the shine of fluorescent lights travelled down each strand like a meteor shower. Artemis was mean, yes, but at the same time… She was _loyal,_ and _courageous,_ and she never failed to amuse him with whatever she said or did, and before Wally could stop himself, the word was tumbling out of the deepest recesses of his mind: She was a _spitfire._

Wally shut his eyes tightly and tried to erase every thought he'd had since ten minutes ago. He was still trying to come to terms with his 'extreme reaction' to her death, but all he knew was that it had _hurt_. More than he'd ever thought.

"You okay?" came her voice softly, eerily gentle and Wally realised that his 'normal' façade hadn't been as convincing as he'd thought. If it had been any other time, Wally would've given himself a personal note to access the security cameras to use this as blackmail, considering it was the first time he'd ever heard the archer speak like that. Well, to _him_ at least.

"Peachy," he echoed the words he'd spoken to Black Canary once before.

Her mouth thinned, but she said nothing and they soon settled into another lapse of comfortable silence where Wally continued staring at the potted plant behind her and Artemis was staring at the fork that was still punctured through Wally's sleeve.

He was just about to say something about the weirdness of a potted plant growing in a room where there was no sun, when Artemis looked up at him suddenly and the words faltered on his tongue.

"Listen…" she trailed, her grey eyes looking at everywhere but him, and he would've laughed at how uncomfortable she looked if he hadn't been awkwardly shuffling himself. "If you ever need to talk… or something…"

"Why? Are _you_ offering?" He asked, amused.

"Shut up," she glared back, but sighed a few moments later. "Yeah."

Artemis wasn't aware of it and she had thought that the redhead's stupidity had finally caught up to her since she wasn't sure why she'd approached him in the first place, but Wally did feel considerably better. He had been convinced before that her presence would somehow be stifling for him, that it would remind him of the blind desperation he'd felt during simulation, so he found himself smiling when it had been the opposite.

It was like seeing her so real, and so _normal_ made it all a dream- just a nightmare that would soon be forgotten with time.

"No," he gasped in mock horror. "_Artemis_… talking about _feelings_?"

Immediately after the words left his lips, the blonde stood up and shot him a glare before storming out of the room.

He had not missed the slight twitch of her lips as she'd turned away and Wally laughed to himself despite her dramatic exit. He had started to stand as well, when he felt something tugging down on his sleeve and he looked down at it with a smile.

_Souvenir._

* * *

On Thursdays, Artemis had after-school gymnastics and often arrived at the cave later than usual, showing up only because M'gann had made every Thursday a team tradition of 'Together Thursday'. The name itself made Artemis want to stab herself in the eye with one of her explosive arrows, but she'd never admit that the idea was nice. It was the only time the team did something other than train or be sent off to missions.

Except today when she arrived at the cave, she was only there with Robin, who was dressed in civilian clothes -with the sunglasses, of course- telling her that Together Thursday was cancelled this week since everyone had plans.

Artemis rolled her eyes, exhausted from her long day at school and wished she had checked her messages before she had made her way here. She was tugging unconsciously at her uniform skirt, since she did not have enough time to change out of it, and moved past Robin to walk back to the zeta-tube when he called out her name.

"You got any plans?" He asked, his knowing smirk already in its place as he predicted what her answer would be.

She turned around and crossed her arms to give the younger boy a questioning look. "No, why?"

Robin grinned before mimicking her stance. "I'm heading to Wally's. It's his mom's birthday, want to join?"

If Artemis was surprised, she didn't show it, as she shifted her weight to one foot and narrowed her eyes at him slightly. "No."

He shrugged, before moving past her. "Suit yourself."

Externally, Artemis seemed calm and collected, but she had been shocked that Robin would invite her considering he knew how volatile her relationship with Wally was. It had only been a moment that she'd been preoccupied with her thoughts when Robin snatched her bag that was slung on her shoulder, and ducked before she could grab it from him.

"Robin, you're being an annoying little brat."

His chuckle echoed the room as he continued to distance himself from the archer, unsure why he'd done it either. Maybe it was because of Wally's mental breakdown during the stimulation, and Robin's honed detective skills that had picked up on the brief looks his best friend sometimes exchanged with the blonde in front of him. Or maybe, it was the fact that Wally's words from months before still stuck in his conscience. _Is it wrong to want to know more?_

"You're not getting it back unless you come with me," he goaded with a smug grin on his face.

"You can keep it, I'll just say this really annoying, immature, irresponsible, evil child stole my homework if the teacher asks."

"And risk detention or an F?" He clicked his tongue whilst shaking his head. "We both know how this ends, Artemis."

The archer sighed, exasperated. "What do you want, Robin? I can't just show up there out of the blue. What makes you think it's an extended invitation?" She halted, and bit her lip. "Besides, Wally wouldn't want me there. It's his mother's birthday," she added, though more to herself than to the younger boy who faltered in his steps at her words.

_Interesting_, the boy thought as he walked toward her. "You're part of this team now, Artemis. And that means you're our friend now too, and friends are always welcome. Mary told me to invite the team anyways, if they were available, since she knew she'd interrupted one of our 'Together Thursdays'." Robin's voice flattened at the term, and the corners of the archer lips twitched upwards.

She shook her head at Robin, and took the opportunity to snatch her bag back from his grasp since he'd moved closer to her during his speech. Robin gaped, trying to regain control but he didn't have to when Artemis sighed, crossing her arms again.

"Fine, I had nothing else to do anyways. But, on one condition: I have to buy something for her on the way."

Robin laughed, his boyish voice echoing triumphantly off the stone walls. "Of course."

"And I have to change," she added, dropping her bag to unzip its contents.

The younger boy shook his head before grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the zeta-tubes. "No time, and you look hot."

Artemis snorted and smacked the back of his head.

* * *

**I WENT TO WATCH CAPTAIN AMERICA 2 LAST NIGHT, I CRIED AT- (SPOILER ALERT, I won't say much though) STEVE/WINTERSOLDIER. It was so emotional. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I feel terrible. I haven't written in a while even though it's the holidays and I promised myself I would... **

**On the upside, I went to Supanova! It was super fun and I bought heaps of GoT and Adventure Time stuff, and I even saw a photo print for YJ which had been drawn by some talented artist and it was amazing! I was kinda sad and disappointed at the lack of YJ stuff there although it's understandable considering it's not as recent as the other fandoms. **

**It's the holidays and I haven't been as active as I would like, but I really appreciated all the emails I got whilst I was too 'busy' watching TV and a whole lot of other stuff. Thank you all! It really makes my day even if it's just an email :)**

**TWENTY ONE FOLLOWS! :D**

**Thank you to: Angelgirl18647, BerryEbilBunny, Black Bat Girl, Cinomen, GorgeousChaos, Misa3000, MusicLoverBLD, Ninja Bagel, Phantresss212012, Saturngirl16, Zatanna Carrile, ZeroV, billyisabelo, ingrid, littlea16, maewander25, marinelife2299, spitfireforever, star-eye, the royal bookworm of all dork, thestoryreader99, Arrowlover17, BittyCatt, doggybye, kateygirl7 **

**(Wow this is heaps to type up, I love you guys all so much. Thanks for reading!) **

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Wests**

* * *

"You owe me fifty bucks," Artemis stated, her stomach feeling heavy as she stared at the front porch and the mailbox that said 'West' in front of her.

"_Only _fifty?" Robin replied, amused at the sudden pale complexion of the archers face.

"How about _only_ a hundred more?"

The boy shrugged. "Sure thang, chicken wang."

Noticing that she was standing frozen before the steps, Robin grabbed her forearm and pulled her towards the door.

"Relax, Artemis. We'll laugh about this someday."

At his words, the archer's grey eyes snapped towards him, feeling a sense of déjà vu as she stared at his back. Before she could connect the dots, however, the front door swung open and a middle-aged woman with fiery red hair smiled at them.

"Happy birthday, Mrs. West," Robin greeted, handing her a small envelope with a ribbon on it.

"Robin," she laughed, and Artemis realised where Wally's infectious grin came from. "You didn't have to."

Robin shrugged. "It's only a small envelope."

Mary West's eyes narrowed suspiciously at him in a light-hearted manner, but she said nothing else and she turned to the blonde girl standing stock-still on her front porch.

"You must be Artemis, Green Arrow's niece. I've heard a lot about you," she smiled, noting how the girl's shoulders tensed and her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

The woman was telling the truth, of course, having heard Wally's rants over the months about how she was a thorn in his side, but she also knew from a mother's instinct that her son could be a bit bull-headed when it came to his feelings. The girl was not by any standards below average-and from the slight scrunch of her brows and her defensive stance, Mary knew the girl was certainly a challenge to handle.

Artemis handed the welcoming woman a wrapped gift with an apologetic smile on her slightly sheepish face, as if she was sorry for intruding. "Happy birthday. I'm sorry I wasn't sure what you liked, and it was kind of a late notice," Artemis sent a brief glare at the grinning boy next to her.

"Thank you," Wally's mother replied genuinely, a little touched and gestured for them to enter the house. "And don't feel shy, I invited the team and I'm glad you could've made it. Come in and have a seat, Wally's inside."

Artemis stared at the retreating figure of Mary West and couldn't help feeling envious of Wally that he'd had such loving parents whilst growing up. Though it wasn't that she didn't love her own mother dearly, but she had only experienced motherly care for a small part of her life. It explained why loyalty was so important to the speedster, and Artemis knew that his parents meant everything to Wally.

To say Wally was surprised would've been an understatement. He had grinned when he had caught sight of his best friend entering the dining room and had given a little wave, but his hand froze when he saw who followed next.

_Artemis._ Pain in the arse Artemis was in his house, talking to his mother, with whom he'd shared his negative thoughts about her, and she had a bright smile on her face- the brightest he'd ever seen her show in his presence.

A part of him was dying of embarrassment considering he'd never expected his mom to meet the bane of his existence and actually like her, but the other larger part sort of revelled at the fact that she was here, and that she didn't seem to mind it at all. In fact, she even sent him a warm smile from across the table before greeting the rest of the room.

He couldn't help but notice her appearance, and for someone who hated skirts, it was clear that skirts did not hate her back. The knit vest she wore over her white cotton shirt fitted snugly against her torso, and Wally would've been lying if he said she was ugly. _Artemis was never ugly._

He felt the usual warmth of blood rush into his face at his thoughts, and with impeccable timing, he caught his Uncle Barry's stare on his left side. The man lifted a blonde eyebrow in question, and Wally would've groaned into his hands, completely mortified if he wasn't suddenly addressed by the blonde herself.

"How are you?" She asked, her tone softer as she remembered their conversation a couple days ago.

Wally blinked, trying not to stare again at the wisps of hair that constantly slipped out of her hair tie, and allow his earlier thoughts to resurface. "Scared for my life," he finally answered with as much normalcy as he could muster, his eyes dropping down to the fork on the table in front of her, and she followed his gaze before uncharacteristically bursting out in laughter.

Robin turned his attention to his friends, who surprisingly seemed to be getting on well for once. "What's so funny?"

"My forking near-death experience," Wally deadpanned and Artemis rolled her eyes at his overdramatic pun.

"I stabbed him to the couch with a fork," Artemis shrugged, leaning back in her seat. Uncle Barry, who overheard the conversation whipped around suddenly with his eyes wide.

"Very nearly missing my wrist, where a major artery is and I could've bled to death gruesomely," Wally added for his uncle's benefit.

"I never miss," Artemis snorted.

"Except against alien robots that vaporise you into thin air."

"I didn't miss, it just didn't die."

"But _you_ did," his voice cracked at the end, but he covered it with a devilish grin, as if challenging the blonde.

Robin choked from beside Artemis, before looking up at his best friend with wide eyes and glancing between him and the archer.

The archer glared at Wally and kicked her foot in his general direction, expecting him to jump from his seat and yelp, except a blonde man who sat next to him flinched instead and he turned to her with wide eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I was aiming for _that_," she said, lifting her chin towards the redhead's direction.

The Flash roared with laughter, shaking his head at the youths. He was beginning to suspect there was something more underlying beneath the casual banter, considering he'd caught his nephew's blush earlier and he had had enough experiences to know the signs. However, gathering from the blonde's narrowed eyes and suddenly deadly aura, Barry Allen almost felt sorry for his protégé.

He leaned in close to his nephew and whispered, "She seems like a spitfire."

He'd only intended to speak his mind, but the speedster's eyes widened and his face went white as he stared at the archer in front of him whilst the latter glared at them, having heard what he said.

"With all due respect, sir, I'd prefer it next time if you spoke about me, to me."

The man laughed, but seemed apologetic as he smiled at her. "Sir makes me feel like old Garrick over there-" He gestured towards an old couple that was laughing at something another redhead lady was saying. "Call me Barry. I'm Wally's uncle."

"I'm Artemis," she replied in a flat tone, her eyes still narrowed.

"I've heard," Barry smiled with a twinkle in his eye. There was something about the man Artemis couldn't put her finger on, and it unnerved her. He looked like he knew something that she didn't, and her eyes slid to Wally, who was now looking flustered with his cheeks aflame.

"Your face is as red as your hair." She remarked with an eyebrow raised.

"Uh-yeah. Let's just eat. Happy Birthday, mom!" he yelled suddenly, and started stuffing his face.

Robin looked at Wally and shook his head, before echoing a birthday greeting with the rest of the table.

* * *

The Wests, as Artemis came to realise, were a picture perfect bunch. Their family were like the reruns she liked to watch on late nights, where everyone behaved how their stereotypical role dictated they would, and though most would think it was an act, Artemis was actually enjoying herself.

They were all gathered at the living room playing charades, and the archer laughed as Robin mimed a gun before executing a perfect backflip.

"Well done, boy," Mr. Garrick said, and Robin bowed.

Jay Garrick, she realised not too long after, was the Flash. The one and only original Flash, which made her question the identity of Barry Allen, but considering she caught him saving a falling plate during clean up with reflexes that blurred in her eyes, she immediately knew why Wally's uncle seemed so familiar with her.

"It's a film right?" asked Aunt Iris. "Then Matrix, it's the Matrix!" the redhead woman called out, who Artemis understood as Wally's maternal aunt and The Flash's wife.

Artemis stared at the scene playing in front of her, feeling a little lost as she realised the connections that went through this family. She'd always thought that having secret identity meant isolation, that the secret would always be yours to keep alone, forever. But this family was the exact opposite of the belief she'd held for years, and she couldn't help but blink when she thought about the close connections they held with each other. They weren't just superheroes with similar powers, they were a _family._

The sound of applause broke her thoughts, and she clapped along, before realising that it was her turn to go up next.

"C'mon, Artemis! We have to win!" yelled Barry from the couch, and she smirked at him as she took a piece of paper from the fish bowl in the middle of the room.

_Legolas Greenleaf_, it read. A smile carved itself onto her face and she shook her head, chuckling to herself. She raised an eyebrow at her team members: Robin, Barry, Rudolph and Joan, before untying her hair so that the blonde curtain draped behind her shoulders, and settled into a standard archer stance.

She mimed shooting a few arrows, before pointing to her ears, and miming wearing the ring.

"Lord of the Rings!" Wally interjected, waving his hand in the air excitedly, but Artemis shook her head and mimed shooting a few arrows again.

Barry jumped to his feet. ""The elf- what's his name- Legolas!"

Artemis laughed and tapped her nose.

"Are you serious?" Wally asked. "Who was the idiot who put that in the bowl?"

"The avid Lord of the Rings fan in this room: _you_," Rudolph answered, and Wally grumbled, his ears red as he moved towards the centre of the room for his turn.

Artemis turned to walk back to her seat, and Wally caught a flowery scent as her hair followed behind her, and he stared at the lengthy strands before a throat cleared in the room.

It was his uncle's yet again, and he blushed profusely, before fumbling for a piece of paper in the bowl.

_Stupid Robin, that Dick, inviting Artemis to his mother's birthday party and throwing him off his game. _

He wanted to be mad at Robin for bringing her along, or Artemis for making him feel weird, but as he acted out the infamous Titanic scene, he couldn't help watching the archer laugh through the corner of his eyes, and he grinned, feeling oddly triumphant for some reason.

She had a nice laugh, Wally realised.

* * *

**Thank you so much to everyone, I know I say it a lot but it's not enough to show how grateful I am. This is only chapter 7, and I've planned up to chapter 12 but I'm stuck. I'M STUCK. I'LL GET MYSELF OUTTA THIS SOMEHOW. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Today's the last day of the holidays... and I've written zero, zilch, none. I'll manage... somehow. I was going to prolong this chapter since it was so short, but I'm completely late, so here it is! **

**Thank you so much to all these lovely people for your time: **** Angelgirl18647, BerryEbilBunny, Black Bat Girl, Cinomen, GorgeousChaos, Misa3000, MusicLoverBLD, Ninja Bagel, Phantresss212012, Saturngirl16, Zatanna Carrile, ZeroV, billyisabelo, ingrid, littlea16, maewander25, marinelife2299, spitfireforever, star-eye, the royal bookworm of all dork, thestoryreader99, Arrowlover17, BittyCatt, doggybye, kateygirl7, PaaaalomaH, Pen Name Enter Here, PolkadotBunny, PythianPickles, jennelyn12, Amissproduct54, hanjoh1, roseliehale1**

******PS: I don't know if I should keep listing all your names, considering it's a huge chunk of text (again, thank you), but I will since it all means so much to me :) Thanks, guys!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Revelation**

* * *

Of all things Wally West didn't have, it was often his tact- or lack of it- that got him into trouble. He had about as much subtlety as a llama and even then, llama's at least had the decency to be cute while they spat in your face.

When Artemis had appeared the next morning after Halloween, it was that exact lack of sensitivity that got him on her bad side- again. The irritated blonde had been sore, riddled with bruises and aches from the showdown with Harm the previous night, and had dragged herself across the city to get to the zeta-tubes just for a briefing at the Cave. She wasn't even technically supposed to be awake, and the scowl on her face said as much, but as usual, Wally had completely missed it.

"The hell is wrong with your face?" Wally blurted when she entered his view, his face a shade paler than usual and his green eyes flashing an odd mixture of concern, shock and irritation.

"Maybe you should look in the mirror," the archer snapped back, her sudden hostility taking Wally by surprise and he shut up immediately, gaping at her as she stormed towards the debriefing room.

The others were in clusters around the room with M'gann and Superboy in their own little world as they lounged on the couch together- no, surprise there- and Kaldur stood behind the Boy Wonder and Wally as they shared a bag of potato crisps.

A gasp escaped from the martian's lips though, when she shifted her attention to the black and blue hue of Artemis' cheek. "What happened?" She echoed, and immediately moved closer to inspect the archer's injury.

Artemis internally groaned as she stopped in her tracks, and she held up a hand at M'gann's advance, "I'm fine."

M'gann frowned, noticing the way the blonde had avoided her question. "Do you need some ice?" She asked tentatively, and across the room, the freezer door opened and out floated an ice pack.

The archer gave her a brief grateful look that was returned with a bright smile, and the ice pack landed in Artemis' hands as she held it against her cheek with a soft groan.

"Are you sure you're okay?" The Martian questioned, and Artemis waved her hand dismissively in reassurance. Hesitantly, the Martian sat back down and Artemis continued across the room.

She hadn't gone far when another teammate spoke up. "Good job," came a boyish, teasing voice from behind and Artemis turned around to lift up one corner of her lip in reply. She had expected Robin would know, and she gave him credit for not pouncing on her for details.

"Where's Zatanna?" He asked a little too nonchalantly.

"Probably grounded," she replied, wincing as her smirk tugged at her cheek when the younger boy practically deflated in his seat. "Her dad was furious when he picked her up from the station last night."

Wally's shock finally subsided and putting two and two together, he raced to stand in front of the exhausted archer, noting the tiny scratches and faint bruises that stained the rest of her body. "That's where you went gallivanting off to last night? With Harm, the psychopath?" He demanded, surprised by the growl in his voice.

"What's it to you?" She asked, her eyes narrowing into slits.

Wally scoffed, his fists clenched to his sides. "You could've gotten hurt. You're so... So reckless! You could've gotten yourself killed."

Artemis was practically dead on her feet, and though a little part of her knew that Wally was right, and that she had bitten off more than she could chew last night, she was still pissed. "But I didn't," she hissed. "And I succeeded so no other innocent civilian would be in harm's way again."

Robin snickering went unnoticed behind them. "No pun intended."

The others groaned, but said nothing else as they watched the two argue heatedly with one another. They knew with experience that the two were best left alone, unless you wanted to be dragged into the nuclear war.

"You could've died, does that mean anything to you?" Wally's voice rose in volume, and Artemis almost stepped back in surprise. "You always think you're all that, but you're not Artemis. Some things you can't do by yourself, and you could've called me."

As if noticing the presence of the others in the room suddenly, Wally almost blushed and added, "I mean us- the team."

The comeback on Artemis' tongue faltered, and her eyes widened along with the rest of the team. For the archer, Wally's words echoed in her mind like a reprimand, a reminder that she had been wrong last night not to call for backup, but she had been too proud and too hurt. The archer had not wanted to see the lovesick couple flaunt their relationship right in front of her.

However, the others were shell-shocked at Wally's little slip up. Robin had always known Wally was curious about the archer. He hadn't been sure why, and he didn't think Wally did either, but now the Boy Wonder pondered if there was something more going on with Wally when it came to their blonde friend.

The rest of the team seemed to be on the same line of thought as they shared a look and tried to hide their amused grins.

Though Artemis knew it was futile, and that she had been wrong, her pride once again took dominance. "I was with Zatanna, we handled it."

"Barely," Wally snorted.

Artemis rolled her eyes as she pushed past the speedster, not willing to admit that she'd lost this one though she knew Wally would break out into a victory dance as soon as she left.

But unbeknownst to her, Wally's cheeks flared red the moment she exited the room, and he plopped himself down on the edge of the couch, placing his head in his hands.

What was happening to him?

Artemis was a member of the team and a vigilante like all of them were. They all risked their lives for their roles and Wally understood that, but there was a reason why he wanted to keep her safe. The speedster wasn't sure how he would handle if the events of the simulation became reality.

A part of him knew it wasn't his role, but the larger part wished it was and for the first time in months, clarity struck him like one of Artemis' sucker punches.

Black Canary had been right. Wally was in denial. But Artemis was Artemis, and if the months since she'd joined told him anything about her, he was so out of his league.

Wally West was never one to feel insecure. He'd always had straight A's, loving parents, a comfortable life, and since not long ago, he'd also become the fastest kid on earth. He wasn't bad looking either, years of orthodontics had corrected that, and he'd always thought he was a smooth talker. Who didn't love a suave, handsome superhero?

Obviously, Artemis didn't. Maybe her indifference made her different to Wally. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind and didn't seek approval from anyone, especially him. She was fierce and harsh sometimes, but Wally had seen the soft, open expressions she was capable of making in rare occasions, and he liked them. He liked _her_.

Wally let out a groan and threw himself backwards into the lounge. _Perfect._

"What's shakin', bacon?" came a teasing voice and Wally opened his eyes to see his best friend grinning down at him.

"Honestly? The worst and best thing that could ever happen to me."

Robin's eyes narrowed behind his mask, and his gaze drifted to the exit for a moment. "Which is it?"

Wally sighed, sliding his hands down his face dejectedly. "I don't know, and I don't know if I'll ever know."

The Boy Wonder froze for a second, and he looked down at the slumped posture of his best friend with inquiring eyes. It was his honed bat senses or his well-developed knowledge of his best friend that alerted Robin to what was going on. If he had been unsure before, he wasn't now, and he almost laughed at the irony of the situation. _Dislike? More like Like._

The only thing keeping him from cheering and clapping Wally on the back for coming to terms with his feelings was Artemis, and though he knew a lot about the archer that most didn't, her feelings were something he couldn't figure out. It was the first time he'd heard his best friend so vulnerable when it came to his personal life, and Robin couldn't help but sigh. It just had to be Artemis.

"You won't know until you try," he replied earnestly, patting Wally on the back.

At his words, the speedster sat up abruptly, and his green eyes shone with newfound determination. "You're right. What is there to lose?"

Robin frowned and looked away. Being the only person who knew Artemis' history, the Boy Wonder would say he had everything to lose.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: And... school's back! Yay. How is everyone? :)**

**Thanks again to all you snazzy followers and your favourites and reviews always brighten up my day!**

**********Angelgirl18647, BerryEbilBunny, Black Bat Girl, Cinomen, GorgeousChaos, Misa3000, MusicLoverBLD, Ninja Bagel, Phantresss212012, Saturngirl16, Zatanna Carrile, ZeroV, billyisabelo, ingrid, littlea16, maewander25, marinelife2299, spitfireforever, star-eye, the royal bookworm of all dork, thestoryreader99, Arrowlover17, BittyCatt, doggybye, kateygirl7, PaaaalomaH, Pen Name Enter Here, PolkadotBunny, PythianPickles, jennelyn12, Amissproduct54, hanjoh1, roseliehale1, AmeliaSkellig, Cst . Reader, Gia2000, shelllabey, Princess Anna of Arendelle, Clara221b, slyterin955, wicked . faith10, youngjusticewriter**

**PS: Angus and Julia Stone were a big part of this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Embrace**

* * *

The trip back to the apartment had taken twenty minutes and forty seconds, with each tick of her watch counting down like a doomsday button before she'd finally arrived. Artemis wasn't sure what she expected.

She knew her mother wouldn't be there, not when the Justice League had disappeared in front of her eyes, and billions of adults vanished all across the world, but she still hoped for the smell of jasmine and lily and the telltale rattle of Paula's wheelchair against the wooden flooring.

The calming presence her mom usually exuded was gone, and the young archer never realised how much she needed it, until now. She ran a shaky hand through her hair as she lowered herself to the ground, curling her knees to her chest and breathing deeply through her nose.

What now? What was there to do? The world was going to change, and with a bunch of teenagers in charge, it wasn't going to change for the better. Chaos would reign, and though they'd come to a resolution one day, she'd be gone by that time. Gone the moment she turned eighteen, just like all the adults were, like her mother was.

In her moment of panic, Artemis scrambled for the com-link in her pocket and called the first person that came to mind, whose name was also last on her list.

"No one's here," she said in lieu of a greeting, her voice sounding distant to her ears over the loud thumping of her heartbeat.

"I know. I'm sorry, Artemis," came the answer, his tone uncharacteristically solemn, and Artemis squeezed her eyes shut tightly. That was what she needed to hear- the confirmation that her mom really was gone- and her breath rattled through her lungs.

"How about you?"

"I-I'm heading home now," the speedster answered.

"Okay," was all Artemis could say. She understood his need to stay hopeful, to believe that his parents would be there and she almost wished they were. The Wests, open and exuberant, weren't afraid to share the warmth that they never ran out of, and perhaps that was why she called him.

Artemis could hear the rustle of wind against his mic as he probably ran all the way home, and the archer would never admit it, but she was grateful for his presence. The stillness of her home, of her childhood haven without her mom was suffocating, and Artemis rested her arms on her knees, burying her face into the crook of her elbows.

There was a moment of silence and Artemis would've thought he'd hung up if it weren't for the background noise, but there was a faint rustling before Wally's consoling words reached her ears, "We'll be okay, Artemis. I promise."

Her heart sounded loud in her ears, and she tried not to let the tears flooding her eyes to overflow.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," She replied, her words inflicting the sharpness that her lifeless tone couldn't.

"I never break my promises," he said resolutely. "We'll get through this. We're all still together, aren't we? Still a team."

Artemis scrunched her eyes up as they burned behind her closed lids, and the hysteria rising in her throat stilled before a wobbly smile stretched across her lips.

"Whatever, Wall-man."

A chuckle sounded on the other line but before Wally could retort with one of his lines, both their com-links began to ring in their ears and both accepted the incoming call with a tap of their fingers on the device.

"KF, Artemis," the Boy Wonder called, sounding relieved. "Good, you're connected. The younger kids are freaking out and we've established a rendezvous point at Happy Harbor High School where we're rounding up every baby and toddler in the area until we find out what's going on.

"Conner and M'gann are already out there gathering younger kids to the gym, so hurry. We need all the help we can get," Robin ordered before ending the connection and Artemis thought about the thousands of other children who felt just as she did, lost and afraid now that their anchors in the world were gone. She stood up from her spot immediately, a sense of purpose causing adrenaline to rush through her veins.

"Guess we better get moving," Wally said as Artemis made a noise of assent to reply, and she left her apartment for the zeta-tubes back to Happy Harbor.

As soon as Artemis disconnected the call, Wally felt his feet slow down as he neared the sign that read 'Central City 8200 km'. There were a couple cars that had crashed onto the sides of the highway, but none had any children in them.

It didn't take long for him to run back to Happy Harbor, after deciding that the mission came in highest priority, and that the trip home would've taken some time but there had been a part of him that wasn't sure he wanted to see what was left of his home- or what wasn't left in it.

He had stopped by at houses, telling older kids to round up everyone to Happy Harbor High School, and he saw things he was afraid to see at his own house: the abandoned, cold coffee in the middle of the table, or the car keys on the floor, or broken dishes littering the kitchen tiles.

Wally wondered what his reaction would have been if he'd seen his house without his family, and instantly thought of Artemis and the way her voice had shook when she had called, or her irregular breathing that hadn't gone as unnoticed as she'd thought.

It pleased him to think that she'd called him out of everyone she could've contacted, but at the same time, it had killed him to know that the ever indifferent, confident Artemis could be vulnerable- and to him, no less- when he'd been halfway across the country with no means of comforting her.

On his way to the gym, he had picked up another kid from another empty house, and when he arrived at the Happy Harbor High School gymnasium, he surveyed the room with a frown on his face. There had to be about forty children in here, all of whose parents had disappeared mysteriously.

Slowly, he moved to the center of the room where he saw Artemis surrounded by the youngest kids.

"I'll find your mommy, she's out there somewhere playing hide and seek," he could hear her say to a crying little girl with blonde pigtails as he got closer.

The little girl wailed louder. "But I don't want to play this game anymore."

Wally walked up to the circle, and tapped her on the shoulder with the kid he still held in his arms. Artemis whirled around from the crying girl, and let out a sigh of relief when she saw the speedster. There was a shine to her eyes that Wally noticed, but he said nothing as he tried to hand her the little boy.

"I picked him up in a house near the coastline, there should be another dozen or so coming this way with a group of teenagers."

She nodded, placing her hands under the little boy's arms and pulling, but he was holding tightly onto Wally's neck.

"Artemis will take care of you," he tried saying fondly, but the boy shook his head and hugged him tighter.

The archer stared at the little boy as her hands dropped to her sides, and her mouth tightened as she glanced over all the little kids around her. She wasn't even sure why she was here since she didn't even know what she was doing, and she was never good with these things. Artemis Crock didn't know how to cheer up forty kids whose parents had vanished just like hers had, and the little kid was right. Nobody needed her here.

She balled her fists and glanced away from Wally as her eyes burned, and she slap-wiped her cheeks when a lone tear leaked past her defences.

The speedster's eyes widened and his hands itched to reach out to her as he watched her usually wide shoulders shake infinitesimally.

"Hey," he said, taking a step closer with his free hand facing her.

"I'm fine, Wally. Just go," she muttered, and looked up at the ceiling to stop the flow of annoying liquid in her eyes.

He didn't know how it happened, but it did, and it had been the first time he'd felt so sure of something. Without warning, his free arm had wrapped around her shoulders and nestled her head into the other side of his neck.

Artemis' breath halted against his shoulder, and her hands were awkwardly held between their bodies, but Wally ignored it and smoothed her hair behind her shoulder.

"You're okay, Artemis. You're okay," he murmured into her hair, and Artemis stilled under his arm.

Usually, she would never have condoned this- whatever _it_ was. It was Wally, Wall-man, the Kid Idiot, Wallaby West, and even though her mind whirred with a thousand insults for the redhead, she didn't mind it. It was kinda, sorta, maybe even nice.

The speedster had always been an emotional distraction for her, an outlet where she could spend all her frustrations on and forget about all the other crap in her life, but she suddenly felt guilty for ever insulting him, for calling him Kid Malingerer when Wally was just Wally. He was a West.

Just as she relaxed in his half-hug, which would've looked awkward from a third perspective, she felt a small tug on her hair. The little boy had Artemis' hair in his grasp, and above her, she could hear Wally's tender, "Pretty, right?"

The archer suddenly froze and slowly, she looked up into an expanse of green and a hint of gold, and the moment had gotten too fragile, too weird, that Artemis stepped away immediately. She smiled at the little boy with her hands reached out, and he was transferred into her arms.

Wally had expected her to insult him or threaten his life if he ever did that again, but instead, she stood there, playing with the kid in her arms.

"Thanks," she finally said, before glancing up at him through her long, wet eyelashes. "Thanks, Wally."

Then she had turned around and left him in the middle of the gym with crying kids and hushed voices, but his cheeks were hot and all he could think about was how Artemis Crock was unpredictable, emotionally inept and dangerous; but mostly, how she smelled of daisies.


End file.
